Human stories aren’t reflected in all kinds of polls – Article by Nicolas Kalogirou, member of the Central Committee of AKEL
Monday 7 November 2022, “Haravgi” newspaper
One aspect of the election campaign are polls. Most of the time they are carried out by the mass media, electoral campaign teams and political parties. Each poll differs from the other, but they are all essentially the same.
Polls have traditionally created or reversed the political climate, but at the end of the day they do not change the specific picture of society. The problems of the state, people’s everyday problems, the desperation and cry of society are there for all to see and all the measurements reflect the dissatisfaction people feel.
If there is a common denominator in all the measurements, it is the demand of the majority of the people to rid themselves of the present rotten state of affairs.
If we were asked to conduct a poll today, our sample would probably include people such as…
Georgia and Pavlos from Paphos, students at the University of Cyprus and the Technical University of Cyprus, respectively. They started their studies in September and have to commute daily from Paphos to Limassol and Nicosia by bus. The reason? The cost of rent and living costs are high. There are no student halls of residence to meet the needs of universities. The government is mocking students without providing any real solutions, with the risk that many will abandon their studies. …
Maria, a single parent from Larnaca. Price increases and the rising cost of living have forced her to work two jobs to support her family. The social policy pursued by the Anastasiades government was (and is) not among its priorities, as were policies that should seek to offer relief to society from the wave of poverty. Incomes are stagnating and the daily cost of living is rising sharply…
Andreas and Melina, a young couple from Limassol. They have for some time now been trying to build their own home. The rents are unaffordable, while the construction costs unbearable. No proposal, no vision from the ruling government forces with plans for housing made for a privileged few and with procedures that prevent young people from applying. …
Pavlos, 62 from Nicosia, a carrier 42 years old, wants to retire at 63, with the government telling him he must reach the age of 81 before he can get his 12% penalty back.
After 10 years of the DISY government, all of the above are real everyday stories.
After a government of corruption, interwoven interests/entanglement and the selling off of public wealth and property, the result of any poll conducted is nothing other than a demand for the removal of the ruling DISY party and Nicos Anastasiades, as well as his successors [Averof Neofytou and Nikos Christodoulides]. People of all ages are looking for a perspective, growth for the many and social prosperity.
People are looking for a society that wants clean choices to be made far from interwoven interests/entanglement, corruption and conservatism.
That choice is none other than Andreas Mavroyiannis, an independent and non-affiliated candidate. His vision and his programme supports the working people, the poor, the popular strata, the vulnerable and fragile groups of the population.
